For DJ Grimes, keeping abreast of the latest advertising trends is crucial – so he can avoid them. The recently hired art director at the Phelps Group, a marketing communications agency in Santa Monica, said he spends about an hour a day surveying the industry.

“It’s huge,” said the 38-year-old Grimes. “In advertising you don’t want to do what other people are doing.”

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Reston, Va., Grimes got an early feel for the ad business from his father, Don, who owned a local firm. The elder Grimes would entertain his son at home in the basement by drawing advertising-style illustrations.

“Instead of giving me coloring books, he would say, ‘What do you want to color? How about a mouse on a surfboard in the middle of the city?’ And he would draw it up right there,” Grimes said.

His father planted the seed for his ad career but never forced it. So he decided to pursue music as a teen. While still in high school, he played bass guitar in hardcore punk band Avail, and was soon performing in D.C. alternative music clubs. The band would go on to record several albums and EPs, and would tour the East Coast and Europe. After about 10 years of punk rock, Grimes decided he needed to head down a new road.

“Through music I realized that I need creativity, and that if I was going to be building a career, I’d need to do something that I have fun with,” he said.

Inspired by a sister who had switched from pursuing a business degree to studying design, Grimes enrolled in design studies in 1997 at Platt College in San Diego. Before joining Phelps, he did art direction for children’s textbooks and worked at several boutique ad agencies.

Grimes has no regrets about the time he spent on his music career. “It was good just experiencing life,” he said.

Grimes lives in Placentia with his wife, Stephanie, and 2-year-old daughter, Adyson. He’s an avid surfer who likes to hit the waves at least once a week.